A “Snapshot” View of Pathology Day,
Tuesday 28 May 2013, an RCPA initiative
EVENT NUMBER ONE
Release of 2 Position Statements – one on Vitamin D Testing and one on Cancer reporting
(with ILPP). A Morning Tea was held at RPA, Sydney with 45 attendees including media.
MC was A/Prof Peter Stewart, Cancer Statement announced by Yee Khong, Vitamin D
Statement by Michael Harrison. Prof Stan Robboy President of College of American
Pathologists also spoke
EVENT NUMBER TWO
Inny Busmanis in Singapore reported on their activities to celebrate Pathology Day in
Singapore with a “guided tour of our new path lab with step by step information about tissue
processing and analysis followed by distribution of promotional material and hopefully some
stimulated minds at the end!”
Picture of the participating medical students from Duke-NUS.
EVENT NUMBER THREE
Victorian State Councillor David Ranson reported that:
“Our VIFM reception area was covered in posters and goodies”.
EVENT NUMBER FOUR
University of Queensland: Reported by Julie Ayre, Curator, Integrated Pathology Learning Centre,
School of Medicine.
Members of the community including secondary school students, representatives of health advocacy
groups, medical educators and health professionals attended an afternoon seminar with
presentations highlighting intriguing aspects of pathology practice and research. The topics
included forensic pathology and aspects of law, the hospital autopsy and links to cancer research,
and neuromodulation and pathology of the brain. The talks prompted some lively discussion and
were followed by an opportunity for visitors to look over the Centre. The presenters were: *Dr
Charles Naylor, Forensic and Scientific Services *Helen Jeffcoat, Supreme Court of Queensland
Library * A/Prof Margaret Cummings, UQ *Dr Deborah Smith, UQ *Prof Helen Chenery, UQ Centre
for Clinical Research *Dr Tom Robertson, Pathology Queensland
Photos are: (1)
A/Prof Margaret Cummings
(2)
Prof Sunil Lakhani, UQ Head Discipline of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, introducing the seminar
(3)
Presenters (left to right) Dr Tom Robertson, A/Prof Margaret Cummings, Dr Deborah Smith, Helen
Jeffcoat, Dr Charles Naylor, Prof Helen Chenery
.
EVENT NUMBER FIVE
The UNSW experience: The School of Medical Sciences at UNSW embraced RCPA’s initiative. Dr
Simone Van Es (Anatomical Pathologist and Pathology lecturer at UNSW), A/Professor Gary Velan
(Associate Professor in Pathology and Head of Pathology department at UNSW) and Mr Derek
Williamson (Director of the Museum of Human Disease, UNSW) organised the Day with the aim of
making the day fun and educational for students, staff and the general public alike.
“We wanted to take the opportunity to teach everyone about diseases and their underlying
pathological processes but at the same time point out that all these diseases are often diagnosed by
medical Pathologists”.
The support: Professor Nick Hawkins, Head of the School of Medical Sciences at UNSW,
suggested that the Museum of Human Disease should be the location for Pathology Day at UNSW
as “pathology” is so visually obvious at that venue. Staff in the School of Medical Sciences were
extremely supportive: from our administrative officer in the SOMS office co-ordinating receipt and
storage of equipment delivered from RCPA, to staff in the Medical Education and Research Office
ensuring that announcements for Pathology Day got out on time, to staff in the Medical Computing
Support Unit providing help creating electronic folders specifically for the Pathology Day quiz and
associated virtual slides and radiological images.
Fig 1. Electronic folder created by staff for Pathology Day
The day was advertised widely at UNSW for a couple of weeks in advance. [Now everyone knows
that Pathology Day 2014 is coming so hopefully they already have it in their diaries]. We used
posters, broadcast emails to students, announcements via UNSW’s Learning Management System
and advertisements through Medsoc. Advertisements were brief and catchy:
Pathology Day 2013 - Quiz and displays
When: Tuesday 28th May.
Where: UNSW Museum of Human Diseases. 9am-4pm
What: Prizes......
Quiz 1: Interesting Pathology Facts (caters for medical, non-medical students and staff - all entrants receive a small prize)
Quiz 2: Complex Advanced Diagnostic Pathology (Medicine and Medical Science students only may enter)
Questions to Dr Simone Van Es s.vanes@unsw.edu.au
th
Helpful info: http://www.rcpa.edu.au/Home.htm (Pathology affects us all. On Tuesday 28 May it is Pathology Day throughout
Australia. To promote the Day at UNSW, we have organised quizzes, displays and interesting educational material in the
Museum of Human Disease).
The Medsoc president, a final year Medicine student created her own version for us, to send out in
her weekly student mail out:
Tuesday 28th May. UNSW Museum of Human Diseases. 9am-4pm
Like a Trivia Night, but in Pathology! Bring your friends, and join forces or compete against each other in the two Pathology Quizzes on
this day. Prizes.
Quiz 1: Interesting Pathology Facts (catered for all - medical and non-medical students and staff)
Quiz 2: Diagnostic Pathology (catered to Medicine curriculum)
Questions to Dr Simone Van Es s.vanes@unsw.edu.au
Helpful info: http://www.rcpa.edu.au/Home.htm
The approach: The approach was multifaceted as the aim was to produce something that everyone
could engage with:
1. Quiz 1 was created for all students and staff (and even the general public if they wanted to
join in) on the "interesting facts" that appear in ePathway. Posters were created from the
“interesting facts” that appear in all the issues. These posters were placed around the
Museum with their associated specimens if relevant. All participants received one of RCPA
prizes.
Fig 2: Quiz 1 Pathology Day 2013 at UNSW
2. Quiz 2 was created to cater for students from the Medicine and Medical Sciences programs.
This quiz was based on a complex diagnostic puzzle and attracted those students with a
competitive streak. This case of pseudomembranous colitis, which contained a combination
of macroscopic pathology, histopathology, radiological images, haematology, clinical
chemistry and microbiology was created in poster format and displayed in the Museum on
Pathology day. The participant had to analyse the investigations (both pathology and
radiology), correlate this with the clinical information and answer a set of multiple choice
questions online. Upon submission of the quiz each student was directed to the RCPA home
page. Students had 36 hours to submit their answers online. The overall winner was drawn
from those who achieved a 100% score. The Museum of Human Disease pledged an iPad
mini for the overall winner and iTunes vouchers for the runners-up who also achieved 100%.
Fig 3. A sample from the Diagnostic Puzzle poster which was displayed in the Museum on Pathology
Day.
Fig 4
. An example of some of the Questions 7 and 8 from the online quiz on Pathology Day
3. A display was created which emphasised one of the “Pathological success stories” – Pap
smear screening was chosen. A poster was created with easy-to-understand terminology.
This was accompanied by Pap smear utensils (such as speculums, endocervical
brushes/cervix brooms/spatulas, Cytofix spray, hazard bags, slides) which were kindly
donated by the cytology department at POWH and displayed in a glass cabinet. The display
also contained a macroscopic specimen of a cervical carcinoma. The poster and display
sparked a lot of interest from visitors to the Museum (both adults and high school students)
but we also had a number of Medicine students come through to look at the Pap smear
screening display ("from “cervix to slide –from patient to pathologist – Pap smear screening a
pathological success”). Some junior Medicine students commented that it was very useful for
their current coursework.
Fig 5. Poster and display
The outcome
Many people came through the Museum of Human Disease on Pathology Day. This included groups
organised by the Museum (a group of nursing students, several groups of high school students with
their science teachers), Medicine students and Medical science students. The nursing students and
high school students were thrilled to get some of the RCPA prizes, all enthusiastically donning their
Pathology Day badges as they walked out of the building.
Fig 6. Prizes donated by RCPA
The Medicine and Science students were keen to participate in the quizzes or just peruse the
displays and interesting facts posters.
48 students participated in the complex diagnostic puzzle quiz.
Fig 7: Results of Pathology Day 2013 Complex Diagnostic quiz
Nine students obtained full marks. All students were directed to read the educational feedback on
the diagnostic case which was placed in the Pathology Day 2013 folder on
http://vslides.unsw.edu.au/ .
It seems that everyone appreciated Pathology Day 2013. Feedback from students received by
email included:
“Thank you again for organising the Quiz,”
“Good afternoon Dr. Van Es,
Thanks for organising Pathology Day, it was an enjoyable day.” And
“Thank you! I enjoyed the quiz, it was interesting”.
EVENT NUMBER SIX
Pathology Day a hit at Otago University, NZ
Robyn Lutzenberger, Departmental Manager, Department of Pathology and Molecular
Medicine reported: Since taking on her new role in March as Head of Pathology and Molecular
Medicine, one of Diane Kenwright ’s main aims has been to help UOW and the hospital feel that the
department is accessible to them. An important step in that direction was Pathology Day in May, and
the day was a huge success. More than 100 students and staff from UOW and CCDHB snapped up
the opportunity to see the department and enjoy a range of talks and tours and information about
pathology. The event was held in conjunction with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
who were also running their first pathology day at the same time. Donations of giveaways from the
College, such as tubes of jellybeans that resembled tubes of red blood cells, added to the day’s fun,
as did spot prizes of big blocks of chocolate, says Diane.
“We’ve had lots of spontaneous feedback about how interesting it was – everyone loved it.”
It was so successful in fact that the department will follow up with an additional Pathology Museum
Tour and electron microscopy lab tour on 14 June.
EVENT NUMBER SEVEN
Healthscope in Victoria provided 4 sites for Pathology Day, all kindly reported by Dr Norman
Sonenberg.
1. Monash university medical school Clayton run by Dr Dylan Close. We were unable to provide
demonstrations of lab work but provided career pathways for medical students.
2. At Knox Private Hospital At Knox we provided a point of care testing area as well as college
material. Run by Dr Nada Dickinson
3. At the Northern Hospital we had a table in the foyer fro the public and small tours of the lab.
Run by Dr Essa Saeedi and Dr David Nickless.
4. At the Bendigo Hospital we provided a morning tea for Nurse Unit Managers and tours of the
laboratory as well as a table in the hospital foyer. Run by Lab manager Lorraine Draeger.
I hope we contributed a little public education about pathology. The medical school was
interested in developing this but getting into there at an appropriate time and space was
difficult. The hospital were quite co-operative.
EVENT NUMBER EIGHT
John Hayman from the Department of Pathology at The University of Melbourne reported the
following:
We wish to nominate for the Pathology Day Initiative Prize, as mentioned in the original circular. The
Pathology Department at the University of Melbourne spent time with each Pathology Group,
explaining the importance of Pathology learning as being the basis of medical science, emphasised
the breadth of pathology and explained the wide range of employment options available within the
specialty. In addition we had pathology posters on all doors and discussed the joys of pathology in
the tutorial groups. Each student received hand wash, sticky note pad and a tube of eosinophilic jelly
beans.
One additional and significant initiative was to distribute Pathology journal mouse-pads (courtesy
WKH) to each computer work-station in the pathology laboratory. With these every student in the
new MD course is now reminded of Pathology and of our journal. The mouse-pads are shown in the
accompanying photo.
We feel confident that these outstanding initiatives will earn us the prize. Instead of a dozen Hunter
River reds (College label) a box of 350 College ball-point pens (one for each MD student) would be
most acceptable. You would be very welcome to use the photo in Pathology Today.
EVENT NUMBER NINE
A singular contribution by Victorian Pathologist Dr Ginny Bilson as per the excerpt below:
The Bulletin Newsletter of The Rotary Club of Keilor East Inc. Rotary Club No.:
21222 Charter granted 10th August, 1983. May 27th, 2013 Volume 30 Number 33 Club Meets Monday 6.30 for 6.45pm at Keilor East RSL 12 Hoffmans Road, West Essendon PO Box 198 Niddrie, 3042, Victoria, Australia. What’s been happening at our Club lately? Monday night’s Guest Speaker was our own Dr. Ginny Billson who is a pathologist at the Royal Women's
Hospital. Ginny spoke about the work she does in the area of Perinatal Autopsy. She sensitively explained that
her sleuthing helps to explain the causes of perinatal deaths. She investigates the causes of death in babies
who die before or after birth. In a way she is not unlike the investigators on CSI. Crime Scene Investigators
use clues to establish the time and cause of infant death. She examines the Genetic implications and risks of
this happening in subsequent children of the same parents. She may confirm a prenatal diagnosis, her job
being to establish why the baby died.
Ginny has to investigate the circumstances which may have led to the baby’s death, the clinical history such
as whether the mother was a smoker or drug addict or had been in an accident. A careful post mortem is
undertaken and this may include an MRI (possible after death in babies). There have been great advances in
how things are now done, even over the past five years with technologies available which assist greatly in
diagnosis. One called a Micro Array may even be performed on a baby which has been dead in utero for
weeks. Stains are specific to isolate genes specific to certain conditions such as Downs Syndrome which has
an extra chromosome 21 or Edwards Syndrome which has an extra number 18.
The Placenta is the baby’s source of nourishment. The study of a still birth is incomplete without the placenta.
It may have become infected or a knot may have appeared in the umbilical cord. Microscopy is very valuable.
A clot or stroke may have occurred. It is the pathologist’s job to draw every clue together and make a
summation. The process is very time consuming and may even take weeks. It is however ultimately rewarding
to solve the mystery of why the baby died. The cost of each investigation can be up to $10,000.
Care and respect are practiced according to the standards of the PSANZ (Perinatal Society of Australia and
New Zealand). The baby is returned to its parents in a condition to enable viewing and burial. Interestingly
superglue is used very successfully. The timeline for a preliminary report is 3 working days, the final report is
given in 8 weeks.
Ginny’s plan is to give accurate paperwork to complete the death certificate. She may use a range of imaging
techniques such as X-rays, Cat Scans and MRI and bacterial, viral and other testing. After undertaking many
autopsies a series of patterns of abnormalities emerges. Position of ears, cleft palate etc. Some abnormalities
are caused by autosomal dominant conditions and others just come out of the blue. MRIs may reveal blood
filled ventricles in the brain indicating a stroke.
Ginny answered questions from Members present— Parent permission must be sought to undertake an
Autopsy. It is not compulsory. What is the danger of smoking with unborn babies? There is a restriction in
growth.
When is the Autopsy done? The sooner the better. 60 to 70% of parents approve the autopsy and this can be
the source of great learning. Are parents offered counselling? Public hospitals have a service available.
Private patients are referred to professionals such as trained midwives. There are organizations which offer
support to grieving parents such as SIDS and SANDS